Lost
by Megz-and-Tori
Summary: Emily tells Hotch that she is leaving team.


Author's note: This is the product of Megz very vivid imagination and too much free time :P (only kidding) Okay a sad one here folks. Emily is leaving the team :( (Damn CBS making us imagine this situation.)

Disclaimer: If we owned it no way would JJ and Emily really leave.

Emily stared at herself in the mirror. She knew what she had to do, but thinking about it was the easy thing. Actually going through with it would be the hard part. Not that thinking about it was easy. It hurt. God it hurt! But there was nothing that could be done anymore. They tried. Well, she liked to think he tried as much as her. But whatever was there before was gone. They had lost it and it just couldn't be found.

Wiping the tear from her cheek, she walked out the bathroom and straight over to her desk. Picking up the file, she stood staring at what would change her life in so many ways.

"Hey Prentiss?" Morgan called, snapping her out her trance. "You ok?"

"Yea, I'm fine." Emily whispered.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Morgan and Reid both frowning at her with worry etched into their faces, but she refused to make eye contact. She didn't want to make this any harder.

Walking up to Hotch's office, she knocked on the door and waited for his approval to enter.

She walked in and closed the door behind her. This caused Hotch to look up in concern. He could tell she was upset, and scared. Emily stood by the door avoiding eye contact, biting her lip, all the while staring at the file in her hands.

Hotch stood up and walked around his desk.

"Emily?" Hotch frowned.

She finally looked up and stepped towards him. She held out the file and waited for him to take it. Hesitantly he did.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled as he opened it. "It's effective immediately."

His face dropped as the realisation of what he was looking at hit him. It was a transfer paper. She wanted to leave, to go back to working in the middle east.

"I don't –" Hotch started.

"I can't stay Aaron. I thought I could but I can't." Emily began.

"First JJ leaves, and now you." Hotch mumbled. "What do you mean you can't? What about us?" Hotch asked dropping the file on his desk. He reached out for Emily's hand but was shocked when she flinched away.

Emily meet his eyes, "What about us? There is no us anymore. You know that as much as me. It hasn't been the same lately. It's just like we've been fading away. You've been slipping through my fingers and I can't hold on. Something's changed and it's not been for the better," she felt the tears coming fast now. "Leaving would be better than staying. We both know that working together after now will be awkward. It would be strained and in being so, it will affect the team's ability to perform and I can't let that happen."

Hotch placed his hands on her cheeks, in hope of holding on to her. "Please, don't do this. We can make it work. Whatever it is you think is missing, we can make it work." His voice was breaking, he felt choked, like the air couldn't quite reach his lungs.

"No we can't," Emily said, the tears now running down her cheeks. "It's gone. You and me, it's over. It has been for a while, we just couldn't admit it."

"I love you" Hotch whispered, wiping her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.

Emily closed her eyes, "I love you too, but the problem is, we're not in love with each other."

"Two years… all gone." Hotch whispered.

"No, they were the best two years of my life. I will never forget them." Emily opened her eyes.

Hotch couldn't help it, but he felt himself lean in and gently press his lips against hers. In a way he hoped she was wrong, that it hadn't come to this. But she was right. There was nothing they could do.

Emily placed her hand over Hotch's which was still on her cheek and pulled it away. She turned and walked out the office. Grabbing her things on her desk she turned to the rest of the team. Reid, Morgan, Dave and Garcia all stood staring at her. Wondering what was going on.

Taking at breath she spoke "Dinner at mine, seven o'clock. Don't be late."

She headed out the bullpen towards the elevators. She stood in the elevator turning to see Hotch standing behind the team, staring at her, watching as the doors closed and blocked out his last view of Emily Prentiss.

Author's note: Please review. There's always the potential to carry on with her telling the team so please tell us what you think? Thanks


End file.
